Jordanian News Agency
February 15, 2008 Friday 1:43 PM EST
Statement issued by Council of Church Leaders in Jordan ..3rd LD
Regarding the foreign missionary groups that come to Jordan, the
Statement said the number of foreign missionary groups comes to under
social education or cultural cover, has increased in recent years;
there are currently around forty groups. Jordan has provided them
with the necessary facilities to perform the humanitarian services
which they ostensibly have come to deliver. These groups which came
under the guise of charitable organizations, have started to call
themselves as churches-which they are not- and ask for the same
rights that the Constitution stipulates for formal churches. They
also have proselytized among Jordanians, in a manner that has given
rise to the religious animosity, disrespecting the freedom of
conscience, and thus disturbed relations among Christian and Muslim
citizens. These groups are financially and politically supported by
certain countries. It is worth mentioning here that Arab Anglican
Episcopal Church and Anglican Lutheran Church do not recognize these
missionary groups as churches.
The Statement pointed out that the Council of the Churches Leaders
has warned successively the Jordanian Government of the danger these
groups pose to Christianity in Jordan to the Christian-Muslim
relations; we wrote many times to various officials in order to
explain their true nature; and we condemned their radical practices
which create strike among citizens. The most recent of such letters
was addressed to His Majesty King Abdullah II on September 29, 2007,
in which the Bishops explained to His Majesty that the objective of
these groups, which are known for their religious radicalism, is to
sow the seeds of religious animosity among citizens.
The Bishops also asked in the above mentioned letter that the
government not allow those groups to establish a "theological
institute" to which they attract poor and unemployment youths,
drawing them from our churches and tempting them with facilitations
and missionary jobs in Jordan and send them to various Arab and
Muslim countries, thereby causing needless trouble for Jordan and
churches in those countries.
On issue of deportation, the Statement elucidated that the issue of
deporting certain numbers of those radical groups is one security,
and deportation should not be surprising when radical practices that
give rise to religious strife. It is natural that the State should
exercise its sovereign right to protect its citizens from harm and
harassment by foreigners. Foreigners are subject to the law of the
country where they reside, irrespective of their religion, and must
respect the regulations regarding their residency permits. If a
foreigner breaches the law, then the State has the right to ask that
person to leave. This is an act of sovereignty.
The statement called on those groups to stop acting as self-appointed
guardians of Christians and Christianity in Jordan, stop describing
themselves as churches and respect the Jordanian State, its laws, and
its citizens. They should stop being the cause of strife, problems
and worries to Christians and Muslims alike. We do not need their
religious extremism or activities that harm national unity and
historical Christian-Christian and Christian-Muslim relations
existing among all citizens. We have made our position regarding
these groups clear to their leaders, offered them our honest advice,
and asked them not to be the cause of strife or destabilization in
the society, but they did not heed our message.
The Statement was signed by Bishop Benedicts, Bishop of the Greek
Orthodox and Bishop Yaser Ayyash Bishop of Greek Catholic (Melkite),
the Roman Catholic Bishop, Bishop Vahan Tobolian, Bishop of Armenian
Orthodox and Bishop Salem Al Saigh Bishop Latins and the secretary of
the Council Bishop John Noor.